CATEGORIES

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
BEST GROUP
BEST MALE ARTIST
BEST FEMALE ARTIST
BEST ROCK ALBUM
BEST HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL
BEST ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
BEST ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
BEST POP RELEASE
BEST INDEPENDANT RELEASE
BEST MUSIC DVD
BEST COMEDY RELEASE
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
BEST BLUES AND ROOTS ALBUM
BEST CHILDRENS ALBUM
BEST DANCE RELEASE
BEST URBAN ALBUM

FINE ARTS
BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM
BEST JAZZ ALBUM
BEST WORL MUSIC ALBUM
BEST ORIGINAL SOUNTRACK/CAST/SHOW ALBUM

ARTISAN
BEST COVER ART
BEST VIDEO
ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

NEW PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS
MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN ARTIST
MOST POPULAR INTERNATIONAL ARTIST
MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN SINGLE
MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN ALBUM

BREAKDOWN OF CATEGORIES

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Solo artists and groups are eligible. The recording must be released in the eligibility period and appear in the ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart published between Monday, 7 September 2009 and Monday, 23 August 2010 inclusive.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Solo artists and groups are eligible. The recording must be released in the eligibility period and appear in the ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart published between Monday, 7 September 2009 and Monday, 23 August 2010 inclusive.
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Album and single recordings are eligible. The recording must have appeared in the top 50 of either the ARIA Albums Chart or the ARIA Singles Chart published between Monday, 7 September 2009 and Monday, 23 August 2010 inclusive. Artists and groups are not eligible if they, or any member of the group, has previously been a final five (5) nominee in any ARIA Awards category with either single or album, or if they have been in a group that has previously been a final five (5) nominee with either single or album, or if they have had a previous Top 50 Album in the ARIA Album Chart or Top 50 Single in the ARIA Singles Chart. Entries must be accompanied by a list of group members appearing on the album/single.

BEST GROUP (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Album and single recordings are eligible. A group comprises of two or more people. If the name on the label is that of a band with no indication of any individual name, then such band will be considered in the Group category only. If the label refers to an individual and a band, the ARIA member must nominate whether that act is to be deemed a group or a solo act for the ARIAs.

BEST MALE ARTIST (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Album and single recordings are eligible. If the label refers to an individual and a band, the ARIA Member must nominate whether that act is to be deemed a solo or group act for the ARIAs.

BEST FEMALE ARTIST (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Album and single recordings are eligible. If the label refers to an individual and a band, the ARIA Member must nominate whether that act is to be deemed a solo or group act for the ARIAs.

BEST ROCK ALBUM (Judged by the Voting Academy) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. Recording must be directed toward Contemporary Rock, Modern Rock and Active Rock formats. The Recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST HARD ROCK / HEAVY METAL ALBUM (Judged by the Voting Academy) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. Recording must be directed toward Hard Rock or Heavy Metal formats. The recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM (Judged by the Voting Academy) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. Recording must be directed toward Adult Contemporary formats. The recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM (Judged by the Voting Academy) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. Recording must be directed toward Adult Alternative formats. The recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST POP RELEASE (Judged by the Voting Academy) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Album and single recordings are eligible. Recording must be directed toward CHR/Top 40 formats. The recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Album and single recordings are eligible. The nominated recording must be released by either an ARIA Levy II Member or a Member, provided that such member is not part of a multinational corporation.

BEST MUSIC DVD (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Solo artists, groups and various artist compilations are eligible. At least 50% of the DVD?s audio-visual content (by time) must not have been previously commercially released and a track listing must be supplied on request. In the event of a various artist release winning this Award, one trophy will awarded to each credited performer, be it solo artist or group. The DVD must qualify for inclusion in the ARIA Music DVD chart. In the case of a combined DVD/CD recording, the record company will have nominated at the time of release whether that DVD/CD will chart on the ARIA DVD chart or the ARIA album chart. Only releases selected for inclusion in the ARIA Music DVD chart are eligible for this Award.

BEST COMEDY RELEASE (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists, groups and various artist compilations are eligible. Album, single and DVD recordings are eligible. Compilation recordings must comprise 100% previously unreleased recordings. Recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. This category encompasses country music, both contemporary and traditional. The recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST BLUES & ROOTS ALBUM (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. This category encompasses both contemporary and traditional blues forms and contemporary adaptations of Australian traditional music and/or folklore. The recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST CHILDREN'S ALBUM (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists, groups, soundtracks and various artist projects are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. This category encompasses recordings whose form and content are directed towards a pre-teen demographic. In the case of compilations, entries must comprise 50% material recorded specifically for that compilation. Recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST DANCE RELEASE (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists, groups, production teams and various artist compilations are eligible. Album and single recordings are eligible provided they have been commercially released. Artists working primarily within the dance genre eg: House, Techno, Trance, Hardcore, Garage, Breakbeat, Drum & Bass, Disco and Electronica are eligible. In the case of a remixed album or single, the production team(s) and the original recording artist(s) must both meet the artist eligibility criteria, and the release must qualify for inclusion in either the ARIA Album or Single chart. The ARIA member must also nominate whether the production team or the original recording artist would be the recipient of the Award. The recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST URBAN ALBUM (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists, groups, and production teams are eligible. Only albums are eligible. Artists working primarily within the urban genre eg: R'n'b, Hip-Hop, Soul, Funk, Reggae and Dancehall, are eligible. A remixed or re-recorded album is eligible provided that:

Fine Arts Awards

BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. Australian featured artists or soloists involved with ensembles or orchestras containing more than 50% of non-Australian artists are eligible provided the album packaging credits the Australian(s) as the featured artist(s). Recording cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST JAZZ ALBUM (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. This category encompasses Jazz: Vocal, and/or Instrumental, Mainstream, Traditional and Contemporary recordings. Artist cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM (Judged by a Judging School) *
Solo artists and groups are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. This category encompasses predominately Indigenous, Ethnic, Folk or Cross-Cultural music. Artist cannot be entered in any other genre category.

BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK/CAST/SHOW ALBUM (Judged by a Judging School)*
Solo artists, groups and various artist compilations are eligible. Only album recordings are eligible. Recordings of existing or planned theatrical productions and soundtracks, scores and underscores for existing or planned film and television productions are eligible.

Artisan Awards

BEST COVER ART (Judged by the Voting Academy)
This category awards original cover graphics by designers who meet the eligibility requirements. Covers must have been designed in Australia. Criteria for judging includes: originality of design concept, overall design appreciation and merchandising impact. Only album recordings are eligible. Albums which meet the general eligibility criteria may be eligible for this Award even though they may not meet specific criteria for other Awards. For the purposes of clarity, this may include a greatest hits album or a new compilation of previously recorded works. The Award is presented to the designer of the cover who must meet the general eligibility criteria for artists as laid out in Paragraph 3(a), 3(b), 3(c), 3(d) and 3(e). Where more than one person is involved in the design, the award will be given to the person with overall responsibility for the design concept.

BEST VIDEO (Judged by the Voting Academy)
Concept, direction and performance of the video are major criteria, not necessarily the excellence of the music. This Award is presented to the Director of the entered video who must meet the general eligibility criteria for artists as laid out in Paragraph 3(a), 3(b), 3(c), 3(d) and 3(e).If the single was not commercially released, then the media servicing date must fall within the eligibility period.

ENGINEER OF THE YEAR (Judged by a Judging School)
A single track, multiple tracks, or an entire album may be submitted for each engineer. DVD releases are not eligible. Only work released during the period of eligibility will be considered. International product is eligible but entrants must accord with the general eligibility criteria for artists. In the case of a co-engineer, all parties must individually meet the artist eligibility criteria as laid out in Paragraph 3(a), 3(b), 3(c), 3(d) and 3(e).

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (Judged by a Judging School)
A single track, multiple tracks, or an entire album may be submitted for each producer. DVD releases are not eligible. Only work released during the period of eligibility will be considered. International product is eligible but entrants must accord with the general eligibility criteria for artists. In the case of a co-production, all parties must individually meet the artist eligibility criteria as laid out in Paragraph 3(a), 3(b), 3(c), 3(d) and 3(e).

Public Voted Awards
In 2010 ARIA is introducing 4 Public Voted Awards. Listed below are the definitions and how nominations are decided in each category. Voters will be asked to select a winner from a nominee pool provided by ARIA. The method of voting by the general public in each category will be determined by ARIA each year.

MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN ARTIST
The nominee pool for Most Popular Australian Artist will be drawn from the listed nominees in all other Awards categories, including Most Popular Single & Album, in that given year [other than the 4 Artisan Categories.] An artist may only be nominated once in this category.

MOST POPULAR INTERNATIONAL ARTIST
The nominee pool for the Most Popular international Artist will be drawn from the artists whose recordings make up the top ten highest selling international releases (based on wholesale sales during the eligibility period) in both single and album categories. Sales of different releases by the same artist during the period cannot be aggregated for the purposes of this category. An artist may only be nominated once in this category even if that artist has multiple releases in the top ten. Qualifying releases must consist of at least 90% new recordings and must have been first released either during the current eligibility period or during the eligibility period for the immediately preceding Awards.

MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN SINGLE
The nominee pool will be drawn from the top ten highest selling Australian singles (based on wholesale sales during the eligibility period). An ARIA member may enter up to five (5) recordings in this category. Qualifying releases must be new recordings and must have been first released either during the current eligibility period or during the eligibility period for the immediately preceding Awards.

MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN ALBUM
The nominee pool will be drawn from the top ten highest selling Australian albums (based on wholesale sales during the eligibility period). An ARIA member may enter up to five (5) recordings in this category. Qualifying releases must consist of at least 90% new recordings and must have been first released either during the current eligibility period or during the eligibility period for the immediately preceding Awards.